DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - Should African immigrants to UK be forced to take AIDS test?

**Kalobbis** · 06-19-2010, 11:56 AM

The fact that there is no government and still the only data available all list rates that are incredibly low not only for African but World standards should tell you something. These data are collected by NGO's and since they have a vested interest in embellishing AIDS rates in lieu of receiving aid (pun intended) and funding for their presence in Somalia, if there's any suspicion it is that the AIDS rate in Somalia is even lower than 0.5%

That's just speculation. Africa is suffering from a severe AIDS epidemic, and if you don't like the data collected by NGO for AIDS rates, then resource the life expectancies for the areas, which are often a reflection of AIDS and death rates. Or charitable works that are attending to these stricken places in order to try and help and who plead for more international aid.

Most Somali refugees are internally displaced, the few that are in Kenya and Ethiopia are not a contributing factor to the AIDS epidemics in those countries, so once again, the only hypothetical red tape I see in insisting on screening Somalis, while being lax with Eastern Europeans is a political and racial red-tape. Well, there's a reason for the situation in Somalia, which appears an isolated exception.

http://www.boston.com/yourlife/healt..._can_be_risky/

[In Somalia, diagnosing AIDS can be risky

JOWHAR, Somalia -- There may be no harder place in the world to fight AIDS than Somalia.

For the United Nations and Western charities, some areas are off-limits because it is so risky. But even in places where they operate, the basic task of testing someone for the virus is widely considered too dangerous.

''If we tell someone that they are HIV positive, they might take revenge," said Josef Prior Tio, general coordinator for Doctors Without Borders in this central Somali town and in Mogadishu, the capital.

''You could get killed," said Halima Hasan Osmani, a supervisor at a Doctors Without Borders clinic that specializes in care for pregnant mothers but does not test for HIV. A nearby hospital does offer tests, but the Doctors Without Borders staff will not ask whether a patient knows his or her status.

Faiza Narbeth, a Somali native and consultant to the UN Development Program's HIV/AIDS initiative, explained the problem by telling a story she had heard earlier this month at an educational HIV/AIDS seminar. She said that one participant told the group about a birth attendant who had tested a pregnant woman in the southern city of Kismayo, learned that the woman was HIV positive, and then gave the result to the woman and her husband.

''The participant in the seminar told us that the husband accused the birth attendant of infecting his wife," Narbeth said. ''The birth attendant was hidden by the community and had to flee from Kismayo. But the husband found her and shot her dead. These stories are commonplace."

Somalia's HIV prevalence rate is estimated at 0.9 percent of the population, according to a World Health Organization survey in 2004 of pregnant women in antenatal clinics. But no comprehensive studies have been done in the country, which has been without a central government for 15 years. If accurate, that rate would be one of the lowest in Africa.

In Somalia, the UN's focus is simply to educate people about the dangers of HIV and how to prevent transmission. But the widely accepted ''ABC" prevention method -- abstinence, being faithful to one partner, and consistent use of condoms -- is hotly contested here.

At Narbeth's 30-person seminar, some vehemently opposed condom use, saying it encourages promiscuity, which is against the tenets of Islam.

''We agreed to disagree," Narbeth said. ''It raises the problem of how do you fight against the spread of the disease. We are at the beginning, beginning, beginning stage, where everything is based on fear." John Donnelly can be reached at donnelly@globe.com.

06-19-2010, 11:56 AM	#31
Kalobbis Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 488 Senior Member	The fact that there is no government and still the only data available all list rates that are incredibly low not only for African but World standards should tell you something. These data are collected by NGO's and since they have a vested interest in embellishing AIDS rates in lieu of receiving aid (pun intended) and funding for their presence in Somalia, if there's any suspicion it is that the AIDS rate in Somalia is even lower than 0.5% That's just speculation. Africa is suffering from a severe AIDS epidemic, and if you don't like the data collected by NGO for AIDS rates, then resource the life expectancies for the areas, which are often a reflection of AIDS and death rates. Or charitable works that are attending to these stricken places in order to try and help and who plead for more international aid. Most Somali refugees are internally displaced, the few that are in Kenya and Ethiopia are not a contributing factor to the AIDS epidemics in those countries, so once again, the only hypothetical red tape I see in insisting on screening Somalis, while being lax with Eastern Europeans is a political and racial red-tape. Well, there's a reason for the situation in Somalia, which appears an isolated exception. http://www.boston.com/yourlife/healt..._can_be_risky/ [In Somalia, diagnosing AIDS can be risky JOWHAR, Somalia -- There may be no harder place in the world to fight AIDS than Somalia. For the United Nations and Western charities, some areas are off-limits because it is so risky. But even in places where they operate, the basic task of testing someone for the virus is widely considered too dangerous. ''If we tell someone that they are HIV positive, they might take revenge," said Josef Prior Tio, general coordinator for Doctors Without Borders in this central Somali town and in Mogadishu, the capital. ''You could get killed," said Halima Hasan Osmani, a supervisor at a Doctors Without Borders clinic that specializes in care for pregnant mothers but does not test for HIV. A nearby hospital does offer tests, but the Doctors Without Borders staff will not ask whether a patient knows his or her status. Faiza Narbeth, a Somali native and consultant to the UN Development Program's HIV/AIDS initiative, explained the problem by telling a story she had heard earlier this month at an educational HIV/AIDS seminar. She said that one participant told the group about a birth attendant who had tested a pregnant woman in the southern city of Kismayo, learned that the woman was HIV positive, and then gave the result to the woman and her husband. ''The participant in the seminar told us that the husband accused the birth attendant of infecting his wife," Narbeth said. ''The birth attendant was hidden by the community and had to flee from Kismayo. But the husband found her and shot her dead. These stories are commonplace." Somalia's HIV prevalence rate is estimated at 0.9 percent of the population, according to a World Health Organization survey in 2004 of pregnant women in antenatal clinics. But no comprehensive studies have been done in the country, which has been without a central government for 15 years. If accurate, that rate would be one of the lowest in Africa. In Somalia, the UN's focus is simply to educate people about the dangers of HIV and how to prevent transmission. But the widely accepted ''ABC" prevention method -- abstinence, being faithful to one partner, and consistent use of condoms -- is hotly contested here. At Narbeth's 30-person seminar, some vehemently opposed condom use, saying it encourages promiscuity, which is against the tenets of Islam. ''We agreed to disagree," Narbeth said. ''It raises the problem of how do you fight against the spread of the disease. We are at the beginning, beginning, beginning stage, where everything is based on fear." John Donnelly can be reached at donnelly@globe.com.
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